European Agency of Space Stuff

The time has come to build our first orbit-capable rocket and design a payload for it. Woden Main Stage At the core of our new design is a new engine, similar to the RD-107 rocket engine used as the main engine on the Soviet's R-7 rocket . It can achieve a specific impulse (ISP, which roughly equates to efficiency) of 255 in atmosphere and offers a whopping 820 kN of thrust, far in excess of anything our space program has worked with before. Despite this, it's conceptually pretty similar to the V-2 rocket engine, only swapping out the ethanol for the more efficient kerosene . Woden Engines We are currently constructing a new launch pad capable of shifting 60 tonnes (three times our previous mass). Easily growing to match our new facilities, our new rocket core weighs a whopping 58 tonnes by itself. We have full avionic control and can control it using the built-in vernier engines . This design is intended to be modular, growing to meet the needs of our orbital programme mov

Routine Mission (1955-01-25): A simple SR-2a sounding mission that succeeded with no complications. Routine Mission (1955-06-25): This mission necessitated a modified version of the SR-2d with the second stage engines and fuel removed and the first stage power reduced somewhat. This made the rocket slow enough to be capable of re-entry, allowing for the returning a biological experiment. It was a successful mission.   Routine mission (1955-11-23): For this mission we were tasked with taking up an ' advanced biological payload' in a sub-orbital trajectory and returning it. The modified re-entry capable SR-2d was selected for the job. Buddy the dog has successfully returned to Earth safely without any issues and earned his wings! Historical Aside: The first dogs in to space were strays called Tsygan and Dezik, sent up as early as 1951 on R-1 rockets . Dezik perished on a second flight after the parachute on their capsule failed. Tsygan survived the programme and would be adopte